Water, carbonic acid and carburetted hydrogen gases 

 being formed, after which they could not be brought 

 to germinate *. Mr Cruickshank introduced some 

 soaked barley-seeds into a jar containing nitrogen 

 gas, inverted over mercury. At the end of twelve 

 or fourteen days there was not the least appearance 

 of germination, but the gas had increased in bulk a* 

 bout one-fifth, containing from one-third to one- 

 fourth of its bulk of carbonic acid ; but neither the 

 original nitrogen gas nor the barley had undergone 

 any sensible change f- M. Huber found also, that 

 a quantity of carbonic acid was produced when seeds 

 were placed in a jar of nitrogen gas, and duly sup* 

 plied with water ; and that in a few days the radi- 

 cle in a small degree was protruded, which he con- 

 siders as a proof of germination];. But it appears that 

 the same protrusion of the radicle takes place when 

 seeds are submerged in water ; and M. de Saussure, 

 who repeated these experiments in pure nitrogen gas 

 inverted over mercury, observes, that the radicle e- 

 longatcd only in a small degree, which is the con- 

 sequence of the swelling of all the parts of the seed 

 from the imbibition of water, and must not be con- 

 sidered as a true germination . From these facts, 

 therefore, it may be concluded, that although seeds, 

 after being steeped in water, yield carbonic acid 

 when confined in nitrogen gas, yet that they are in 

 no respect affected by it ; neither does that gas itself 

 undergo any sensible alteration. 



* Manchester Memoirs, vol. iv. p. 322. 



f Experiments on Sugar, in Rollo on Diabetes, vol. ii. p. 218. 



:f Sur la Germination, p. 175. Ibid. p. 184. 



